Protestant Holy land Tour

Day 1

Day 2

Arrive at the Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, where your Guide will meet you. Transfer to your Hotel. Light Dinner and Introduction to your tour by your guide. Overnight in or near Tel Aviv .

Day 3

We shall start the first day of our tour with a tour of the old city of Jaffa, one of the ancient gateways to the Holy Land. It was in Jaffa, where Christianity began to be spread among the Nations. Here St. Peter lived in the house of Simon, the Tanner, and had the “Vision of the Flesh.” Today, Jaffa’s renovated alley ways attract many artists, who have their galleries there. We drive to Caesarea Maritima, the magnificent port-city, built by King Herod the Great. In Caesarea’s well-preserved theater, an inscription of the procurator Pontius Pilate was found. We continue our drive along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the modern port-city Haifa, situated on the slopes of the evergreen Mt. Carmel. The view from this mountain is famous for its beauty. Now we drive to the Land of Galilee, where we will spend 2 nights. Overnight in Tiberias .

Day 4

Today we visit the places where Jesus acted around the Sea of Galilee: We will start with the 2000-year-old boat from the time of Jesus, and sail on the sea in a boat similar to the boat used by Jesus and his disciples. Then we visit Capernaum, with Peters House and the famous Synagogue and Tabgha, where tradition puts the miracle of the Bread and The Fish. We shall not miss the view from Mt. Beatitudes, where the “Sermon on the Mount” was given. In the afternoon we drive past Korazin, one of the 3 cities warned by Jesus, and along the eastern shore of the lake, to Kursi, where the Swine’s Miracle took place, and end the day at the Baptismal Site on the Holy River Jordan. Overnight in Tiberias .

Day 5

We start the day in Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine at a wedding, and pass Nazareth, where we view the city where Jesus spent most of his life and absorb the special atmosphere on “The Mount of Precipitation”. We Continue to Mt. Tabor with its scenic Church of the Transfiguration. At the feet of the mountain we will change from bus to Taxis that will take us up the steep road to the top of the mountain. After descending the mountain we drive along the Jordan Valley and ascend to the Holy City – Jerusalem! On Mount Scopus, at a point viewing the Holy City, we will step out of the bus for a Welcoming Ceremony to Jerusalem. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 6

We will start our tour of the Old City of Jerusalem with a visit to The City of David – “where it all began”. Here we can explore the most recent archaeological findings dating back to the times of the kings David, Salomon and Hezekiah, along with the very sophisticated water systems and fortifications that shaped the early history of Jerusalem. If the current situation allows it, we will try to visit the Temple Mount as well. At the “Davidson Center” we will be able to see the excavations of the magnificent Temple of the time of Jesus, experiencing in an audio-visual presentation the deep spiritual experience of the Jewish pilgrims who ascended, just like Jesus, 3 times a year to the Holy Temple of Jerusalem. This will prepare us to the visit of the Wailing Wall, which is still considered until this very day an important pilgrimage-site for Jews from all over the world. We end this day with a visit to “Yad Vashem”, Israel’s National Holocaust Memorial. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 7

We start with a panoramic view of the city from the top of The Mount of Olives, and then walk down to the Garden of Gethsemane passing by the “Dominus Flevit” Church, overlooking the Temple Mount. We continue in the footsteps of Jesus along the Stations of the Via Dolorosa, Jesus’ “Way of Suffering”, and unto the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus was crucified and buried. The Via Dolorosa also passes through the Old City’s oriental “Suq” (Bazaar). We will spend the rest of the day in the Jewish Quarter Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 8

We will start the day with a visit of the picturesque village Ein Karem, where tradition says that John the Baptist was born. Then we visit the Israel Museum were we will see the 1:50 Model of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple Period (the time of Jesus) and the “Shrine of the Book”, where the “Dead Sea Scrolls” are exhibited. We will also visit the famous “Menorah” (Candelabra) situated outside the Knesset-Building, housing Israel’s parliament. We end the Jerusalem-part with a communion at the “Garden Tomb”. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 9

Today we leave the Heights of Jerusalem, and descend to the lowest point on Earth – to the Dead Sea! We drive along the western shore of the Dead Sea and arrive at Qumran, where the famous “Dead Sea Scrolls” were found. We will learn about the special costumes and ideas of the Jews that lived here in a way of life similar to that of Jesus and John the Baptist. We climb (by cable-car…) the famous cliff-fortress of Masada, where Herod the Great built a magnificent palace in the middle of the desert. Masada was then used as a fortress by the Jewish “Zealots” who fought, few against many, against the pagan Roman Empire. Their heroic struggle became a symbol for the modern State of Israel. We leave Masada and drive to the Dead Sea in order to allow you to spend some time in these unique and healing waters. Then we drive to Jerusalem for Overnight.